Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, Kioku Sooshitsu
by AnimePalmer
Summary: A teenager with a mysterious history has appared in Hinamizawa. Not only this but although Rika broke fate and stopped the endless june of showa 58, she is back in that same year again fighting for her and her friends lives against a mysterious character
1. Prologue

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, **Kioku Sooshitsu**

When They Cry, **Amnesia**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of its characters. Higurashi belongs to the 07th Expansion. However I do own my characters that have been created by me not shown in the original.

Prologue

The young teen's eyes flickered as he slipped in and out of consciousness. The river lapping at his feet. The boy looked around about fifteen years old, had dark brown almost black hair and, when his eyelids were open long enough for the colour of them to be seen, dark brown eyes. But all the young boy knew was pain, the pain of what he had done, the pain of what had happened on that fateful day and the pain of not being able to remember it. But whilst his mind was in meltdown, he could always hear one thing in particular around him… The cry of the cicadas.

With the blowing of the wind came another sound however.

"We must act quickly if we don't permanent and severe damage could be done." It was a male's voice that shouted this concern.

"I know doctor, but how do we reach him?" This time it was a female's voice that floated high upon the wind." The only way down is to backtrack up the river and follow it down."

"Alright". The male replied uncertainly "We have to hope we get there in time." And with that the voices diminished into the distance. However the boy heard none of this and continued to soothe his soul with the cry of the cicadas.

The boy knew nothing of who he was, why he was there or even where he was. Only one thing remained of his past, a singular name, one that rang out a thousand meanings to him... Keibaku Anime

**Whoa well welcome to my first fanfic ever posted…. Sorry for its briefness and how short it is I will try to make my chapters longer... Didnt think it was as short as this whenm I first typed it. This is only the prologue and am currently working on the rest. Due to my love of Higurashi I thought that my first fanfic had to be about it. **

**If I seem to have stopped at one point could all of you please kick my backside back into gear.**

**And can you please give me fair and honest reviews (but not if you don't want to review- I'm not forcing you to)**

**Anime Palmer**


	2. Chapter One

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, **Kioku Sooshitsu**

When They Cry, **Amnesia**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of its characters. Higurashi belongs to the 07th Expansion. However I do own my characters that have been created by me not shown in the original.

**In context any emboldened speech by Rika is her deep voice (Bernkastel)**

**When Hanyuu is talking as a spirit it will be italicised **

**If you are reading this make sure you have watched all of Higurashi because there may be spoilers further in.**

Chapter 1 - Introductions

"_Rika, wake up…Au au au… Rika…_"A young voice called out to her. A moment or two of complete silence passed. _"RIKA! YOU NEED TO WAKE UP_!" The voice shouted out. Rika Furude, the young Hinamizawa Miko, yawned and slowly sat up. Blinking several times so as to get a better look at her surroundings. She blearily focused upon the person who had awoken her. Suddenly her sleepy exterior faded to be replaced by one of shock.

"**Hanyuu, why are we back here? Didn't we break fate and stop the endless June of Showa 58… I thought you had no power left to recreate a new world**." Rika's voice had deepened dramatically, commanding with the power of a thousand years knowledge. Knowledge that she should not have.

Throughout this the person who had awoken Rika had been trying to interrupt, with her gentle Au au au, Rika calmed down enough for her to realise this. "**Speak Hanyuu, goddess of Hinamizawa, tell me why we are back" **Rika commanded. With a slightly hurt expression on her face Hanyuu Furude, guardian goddess and spirit, started to explain.

"_I didn't use my power to make a new Hinamizawa. I have no power left to do such a feat, there must be something holding us back in this place." _All it took was this on sentence and Rika's entire world was shattered into a million pieces. Rika could only look on in shock as she was told this; it was as if it was not for her to escape from the death that was to come.

As if resigning herself to this fate Rika threw back the covers of her futon and got herself up. She, almost solemnly, walked across to the calendar on the wall and took a long look at it. It was as before, on the year of Showa 58, exactly two months before the Watanagashi festival. As she stared at it she automatically knew there was something wrong, but she just couldn't put her finger on what it was. Rika flicked the calendar to August, the month of her birthday. She stared at the box, the box in which her birthday was situated. As she flicked to this date, she realised what it was, she realised what was wrong. This feeling went through her very bones. To make sure she hadn't made a mistake, she had to double take on the calendar.

"Hanyuu." The young mikos voice had returned to its normal tone, broken in places as she spoke. "Hanyuu, do you remember… Do you remember my age?" Hanyuu looked up sharply, the question unexpected.

"_Why Rika, what is it? What's wrong?" _The goddess frowned up at her from where she sat. _"Can you not remember?"_

Rika's slight frame sagged slightly at hearing her words. This was not the answer she was looking for. She had hoped that Hanyuu's wise words would help her to control her emotions, the emotions of the teenager that she almost was. Turning round to face her companion through the many fateful June's that had been faced. She said breathlessly, worry in her eyes. "**Is this a cruel joke made by you to scare me? "**

With the fear that was heard in her companion's voice, Hanyuu graciously got up from the floor and glided over to the calendar herself. Her lavender hair covered her face for a moment as she studied it. Suddenly recoiling, Hanyuu faced Rika, her eyes wide with shock. The page fell back revealing the fact that had caused so much fear. Neatly scrawled in the box of August 25th were three words. Rika's 14th birthday. A gentle gasp emanated from Hanyuu's mouth.

This one piece of information changed everything that was known by the two young girls. Whilst it may not seem important to anyone else, it changed their lives. In every other world Rika had been eleven years old turning twelve that August, but here. Here in this world she was thirteen turning fourteen. She was two years older than she ought to be, but she had been born into the same year. Into that same eternal year in which she would get trapped by June of Showa 58.

"Wait, if we have been sent into another world such as the ones that we had been in. Does this mean that Takano is once again the enemy? If so this should be an easy world to live in." Hanyuu nodded at this. This should in theory be an easy world in which Rika could live in.

There was a slight change in Hanyuu's mood as she thought this. With an angry tone in her voice Hanyuu said. "_This is a perfect chance to live your life to the full, whilst I, Oyashira-sama, is once again feared and left to be alone." _A singletear leaked from her eye, with a slight snuffle, she wiped it away. Shaking her head

"_I'm sorry Rika; I suppose I am just a little bit upset that I am no longer there. Able to join the club with their games, I even enjoyed their punishments. Yet here I am trapped as I was for those many years." _Rika understood why she felt this way. If anything she could feel her friend's pain through the link they share. A deep raw wound that could, given enough time, drive her mad. But it couldn't be allowed to do so. For if it did the Kakera Sea, that Hanyuu and she travelled searching for the perfect world, would become a void that Rika, herself would be lost in. With no life line she would be cast asunder into the dark worlds. Those worlds with no hope.

Biting her lip, she watched as the young goddess slipped gently to the floor, weeping as she did. Rika shuffled over to her, taking a slight breath, she said. "Mii, But Hanyuu, whilst you are a spirit here in this world, another world may hold the power for you to return." She pulled Hanyuu into a hug. Protection from her pain. "And I will wait for that world to come. Nano Desu" Hanyuu smiled slightly at this. Wiping her eyes dry she responded with a light chuckle. _"One thing isn't a shame though."_

"What's that?" Rika looked at her in surprise. With a slight giggle on Hanyuu's behalf, she said. _"At least this way Rena won't be able to take me home…" _As this set in, both girls burst out in laughter.

After the laughter had faded, the mirth of the moment just a lingering memory, Rika gave out a small sigh. She looked around at her surroundings. Aware now that this world was different, she did not know which world this would turn out to be. Was Takano still behind the curse of Oyashira-sama? Would Keiichi be in this world, and if he was would he contract the disease? With these thoughts, and more, swirling through her mind Rika decided now would be a good time to establish how exactly she had entered this world.

In every other world, Rika had entered the world after 'she' had hurt in some way and passed out. During the unconsciousness, Hanyuu would put Rika's spirit into the body and complete the cycle. To find out this she would have to ask someone. In her general idea, she thought the most logical person to ask would be Satoko, since she is often around and was Rika best friend through the worlds.

Satoko was normally either in the kitchen or the main room of the house, and could be found cooking up one of her delicious meals or completing yet another of her devious traps (no doubt for Keiichi). Rika pushed herself up from the floor of where she was sat, with a nod at Hanyuu, she left the room. Hanyuu, not wanting to miss out on anything followed. With the patter of a pair of feet, Rika followed the hallway of the house towards the staircase.

As she did so though another pair of footsteps could be heard climbing the stairs themselves. With an inquisitive look at Hanyuu, Rika stopped and looked to see who it was. As the footsteps became closer the head of the local doctor, aptly name Doctor Irie Kyōsuke. Doctor Irie was not only the doctor at the local clinic but also the manager of the local baseball team, the Hinamizawa Fighters. Because of this many of the children who support the team refer to him as 'Coach'. With a wave, Rika calls out

"Mii. Hi Coach, how are you today?" Irie smiles at this, and replies "Hello Rika-chan, I suppose you could say I'm doing better than you are. My you are clumsy, running into that tree like that. I'm not surprised that you were knocked out the speed that you were going at". Rika mumbled a slight Mii at this comment, all the while contemplating each word that was said. With the appearance of Irie, it was definitely not the same as the world that Rika had been sent to just after the incident with the lorry. Also she now knew the reason for how she entered this world. That could be a useful bit of information when talking to the others.

Taking advantage of Doctor Irie's weakness, of which another of her friends was also subject to, she smiled wide and said "Nipah~! Coach I'm still feeling a little fuzzy, could you please tell me what I was doing just before I got hurt…" Looking slightly flustered Irie replied in kind with a large smile on his face "Of course Rika-chan anything for Satoko-chan's friend." Doctor Irie had a fascination with Satoko Houjou, Rika's best friend and love interest (whilst only being a young girl) of Irie's. "You were playing with your friends in one of your club games, Zombie tag I think, and whilst you were being chased by one of them you ran into the Sakura tree in the school." He looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "Satoko-chan came and found me as soon as she had made sure that you were perfectly fine and with some help from Kasai we were able to get you into your bedroom." He looked down at her through his spectacles.

He started to walk back towards Rika's room. "Now will you please let me examine you just in case you have concussion or something dreadful like that, then I can stop your mothers worrying." Rika froze, tensing every muscle as she heard that last comment.

"**My… My mother**." Rika's mouth was very dry and she could only manage a small whisper. "**You mean to say that my mother is alive?**"

At this question Doctor Irie glanced back over his shoulder puzzled at this remark. "What do you mean by that Rika?" Sensing his unease Rika looked up from the spot in the floor she had been sightlessly staring at. With a large smile and convincingly fake tone of voice she responded "NIPAH~! It doesn't matter. I was just being a forget a lot."

He looked over at her worried. He would take care when examining Rika. She seemed as if, to him, to be a different girl. But with a few more Nipahs~! Doctor Irie shook it off. He muttered to himself "Must've been my mind playing tricks on me. No surprise though seeing as I haven't slept for two days. The clinic is getting full, of those critically injured, all of a sudden."

Irie put down his stethoscope, sufficiently satisfied that Rika was fine, and got up from the chair he was sitting on, stretching as he did so. "Well Rika-chan, you are perfectly healthy. No concussion, so that's good, however you may have a slight case of temporary short term memory loss. But that should clear up in a few days. I'll have you up and running around again in no time."

Rika smiled up at him one last time, thanking him for his work. With the visit over Irie left with parting words and headed back towards his clinic, in somewhat of a rush. With his visit Rika had gained important answers, but what she had also gained were questions that needed to be answered. Rika turned to the window deep in thought

She now knew that in this world, Miyo Takano, Jirou Tomitake and Irie Kyōsuke, still worked for that evil corporation known solely as 'Tokyo'. Or at least Takano did, Miyo Takano had been in every world the bad guy. Working for the people who would use her death in politics. The person behind her death for over a century. But due to memory lapses at the end of a world Rika had never been able to remember it happening. Apart the excruciating pain of course.

With the help of Hanyuu she had overcome her 'fate' to die on the day of June 20th, the day after the Watanagashi festival. Hanyuu had become a mortal, losing all of her remaining powers and joining the world to avert the fate for the first time. With the help of all her friends, Rika had managed to avoid death, living a full life. Of which she could now not remember. Now she was back here with no way of knowing what was going on or indeed who the bad guy was here in this world. With a sigh she turned towards the door and walked slowly towards it. She craned her neck to look back at Hanyuu who had watched everything from her usual spot, hovering just above of Rika's bed, a look of distress upon her face.

With an encouraging smile on her face, Rika said to Hanyuu "**Don't worry. This time I know what's to come. I mean look, I've lived through hundreds of worlds and I should know by now what to expect." **To Hanyuu she sounded like she was trying to convince herself. "**Apparently Keiichi is already here, ahead of the scheduled arrival he was supposed to make. And now everything will fit into place. And I'll find a way for you to join in as well; still it's a shame only I can see you." **

Rika turned and left the room bounding down the stairs two at a time. She had to see what Doctor Irie had said for herself, before she would believe it. Turning sharply into the kitchen, she saw that Irie had not lied. Washing up some pots and pans was her mother.

She was humming a small song that she recognised from her youth, her youth being when she had been innocent and not killed so much. She recognised it as Sakura, Sakura a lullaby she used to sing when Rika couldn't sleep. Allowing it to drift her to happier and simpler times, she stood there a tranquil look upon her face. She was so taken with the song that she didn't notice her father walk in through the door. Only when he waved his hand in front of her face did she notice him standing there.

"Good morning, my little cherry blossom, and how are we feeling now. It doesn't seem as if you are too badly injured." Her father spoke warmly to her; it was reassuring to know that in this world she was loved. Walking up to her father, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. He hugged her back, and she felt safe once again. Hanyuu stood back and watched. She could see that Rika was happy but she also felt a tinge of jealousy. Now that her parents were alive and well, would she forget about her? She looked away sadness deep in her heart.

Rika broke away from the hug and smiled, her mother had watched the two of them in exasperation. "Honestly you two, would you come over here and give me a hug. Or are you going to forget about me?" She put on a pretend sad face and sniffled. Her husband laughed and went over and drew his wife into a deep hug. Rika followed wrapping her arms around both of their waists. Her mother looked up suddenly as if she had just remembered.

"Rika, aren't you going to meet up with all your friends and tell them you are alright?" A short silence followed and then Rika answered. "Nipah~!" With this she disentangled her arms from her parents and left the house. Closing the door behind her, she turned and breathed in a large amount of the fresh Hinamizawian air. She turned to Hanyuu, smiled wide and then took off down the path leading away from the house. Hanyuu gave chase hovering slightly above the ground, a feeling of freedom and peace took hold of her. Rika laughed as she took the steps leading down from the Shrine two at a time. What a wonderful gift hope was in a hopeless situation. Charging along the pathways passing the innumerable faces of the people she had died so many times before trying to save and at that moment she didn't care about anything apart from the hope. Reaching the school gates she flung them aside eager to re-join the antics of her friends. She turned the corner of the building and that's where she found them each engrossed in the conversation they were having. She took advantage of the moment to study her friends more closely.

Closest to her was her best friend and closest thing to family she had had in the previous lives. Satoko Houjou. Satoko was a blonde girl with becoming features of a girl who would undoubtedly one day make a fine woman. In every one of the world's Rika had faced Satoko's parents had also died and so they had decided to live together. It had been revealed that due to the Hinamizawa syndrome Satoko had pushed her parents to their doom. The two girls had become inseparable and held each other close in their hearts. Treating them as if they were indeed family. She often wore a bright green dress with a yellow neck tie. Her trademark was her incredible knowledge of trap setting and her unmistakable laugh. Her brother Satoshi Houjou in every world had developed the syndrome also, after he killed his abusive aunt and was taken by Dr Irie to be looked after in his clinic.

The person to Satoko's right was Keiichi Maebara. He was often at the end of one of Satoko's traps and the object at which she laughed at. He was the entire reason Rika had had faith in herself and her friends that they could break fate. He wasn't from Hinamizawa, like the others, he had moved into the area in most worlds after an incident in his home town. As the only boy within Hinamizawa (if you don't count Satoshi, which no one ever does) he had become the automatic target of Mion Sonozaki, the leader of the club and heir to the village. She had made Keiichi wear every embarrassing costume possible and still she continued. However she did still have a crush on him. A crush that had often got Rika killed. With her striking green hair it was hard not to miss her, almost as hard as missing her twin sister, Shion.

It had been Shion who had killed her or at least tried to, in many worlds, Driven crazy by her love for Satoshi who she believed was killed by her grandmother, at the time. She had promised to take care of Satoko and took her job as her adopted big sis seriously.

Furthest away from Rika was Rena Ryuugu. She was a girl who would try to take anything she deemed 'cute' home with her. This could be anything from fried chicken statues to Rika herself. She was also affected by the syndrome quite badly. She has been known to take an entire school hostage and then blow it to smithereens because of it.

As Rika mulled over her facts, she was noticed by the red head, who immediately screamed "Omochikaeri" and smothered Rika in a death hug. Keiichi, Mion and Shion leaped into action to save Rika, who was beginning to choke. Through all this though Rika had on thought on her mind. She had hope and because of that she was happy.

**Sakura, Sakura I got the song from a website: .com/lyrics_#3**

**And yes I know I missed out lots of information about the characters but if you've watched it like I said you should have at the beginning you will already know everything. This is just a recap.I didn't write it quite as I thought I would write it but hey it's a start. Going to get interesting in later chapters. Also thank you for reading..**


	3. Chapter two

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, **Kioku Sooshitsu**

When They Cry, **Amnesia**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of its characters. Higurashi belongs to the 07th Expansion. However I do own my characters that have been created by me not shown in the original. And because of its happiness… HAPPY! LUCKY! DOCHY! YES YES YES!

I'm sorry about all the old information I'm putting in abut the arcs but it's there so as to explain to those less familiar to Higurashi, so they will be able to understand some of the stuff that's going on. So please bear with it.

Chapter 2 – Awakening To The World

His breath was gentle and the rise and fall of his chest barely noticeable, and yet he was alive. When he had been found he was on the verge of death. Whereas here he was no better unconscious and in a coma. He had been in this state since he had been found 3 weeks and 5 days ago and the doctor had done all he could. He was alive. That was the main point. The most important point as far as the doctor was concerned.

Irie had worked on his various wounds that had covered his body, with astonishing results. The mottled bruises and deep cuts, which had been lacerated into his body, were now merely a memory with only some small scars of which told of his previous plight.

For many hours Irie-san had worked his magic upon the boy. But to no avail for he continued on within the coma. The women he owed his life to came and went, yet he knew nothing of this… Yet.

The machine bleeped slowly as it had done every day since he had arrived, Irie mused as he sat beside the bed. He searched the adolescence face for any signs of a response, a sign that he would awaken. This boy was still a mystery to everyone. Nobody knew who he was, where he had come from or even how he had managed to end up on the Sonozaki estate. These were questions that needed answering. And yet Irie could feel that this boy was special in some way. Well he could do more than just feel that way, since he had been testing him. Looking for any signs of illness or disease. 

Moreover he was looking for the parasite that would entail the presence of the syndrome. The tell-tale scratches on the neck or wrists. Even measuring the boy's brainwaves to see whether there was any mental damage.  
>And yet there was no sign of it anywhere, not even the parasite was evident. Another thing was strange about the boy. After Irie had tested the boy for the syndrome he had come across something extraordinary. Similar to Rika Furude his body contained an antibody which seemed to counteract the syndrome. It was different in some slight ways though. For one it was incredibly powerful, but it was totally dependent on the infrastructure of the boy. Irie had already tried to extract some of it, to use in a test for a new counter drug against Hinamizawa Syndrome. However, the antibody simply disintegrated when it came into contact with the syndrome formula that Irie used to test the C-120 drug.<p>

Irie yawned, he had been awake for nigh on 23 hours without a break or rest. Looking up at the clock and realising this he stood up and stretched his aching muscles. He glanced down at the boy once again, puzzled by him. Shaking his head he walked towards the door and left the room. He needed to rest.

But before he did so he made a slight detour to another room to check upon another patient of his, Satoshi Houjou. Satoshi had hit level 5 of Hinamizawa Syndrome, the highest level known so far, and had to be sedated so that he did not kill himself. Once he had been sedated Irie had been able to measure the full extent of the damage done by the parasite. Satoshi was now in critical care, his mind a delusional mass of paranoia and fear. If he was allowed to awaken in this state he would most probably, Irie guessed, kill himself by scratching out his own throat. But, he had made progress. His brainwaves were strengthening each day, shrugging off the damage done by the parasite. Dr Irie and his two nursing staff had done everything possible to help the boy, and it seemed that all the hard work and drugs were finally paying off. The sad news to all this was that Satoshi was still in no way cured. He was still in the level 5 area. And he may well be for another year or more, maybe less. No one knew what would happen and when he would heal.

Irie did everything he could for the boy, for he held a soft spot for the boy's sister. None other than Rika Furude's best friend Satoko Houjou and, by soft spot is meant that he wants to marry her when she's old enough. Everything seemed to be in order as Irie checked and double checked each of the scanners and pieces of monitoring equipment, which lay around the bed. He gave a great yawn and, after checking the equipment again, left the room and traipsed back upstairs into the main clinic area. All of the rooms which monitored the two boys were buried deep underground. He glanced over at the nurse that stood at the desk at the entrance of the clinic. She was Miyo Takano. She was also the better of the two nurses that worked at the clinic, but then again why shouldn't she be. Takano had various diplomas in medical science and was in charge of the operation that looked into the Hinamizawa Syndrome. It had been her adopted grandfather who had first noticed the syndrome, and he had devoted his life to the researching of the disease. And now his adopted granddaughter continued his work. She smiled at him, a smile that sent chills down his spine. Yet he didn't know why that happened, she was a perfectly nice women. But still, she gave him the creeps.

"Can you watch over the patients, I need to go get some sleep." Takano gave a curt nod, and settled herself deeper into the chair. Her eyes resting on the various monitors that adorned her workstation. These monitors gave her the scans that the equipment took every few seconds, and gave live video footage of the rooms

Irie sighed, she never had been one to talk much. She always seemed to be deep in thought. Probably thinking of what she was going to do in order to carry out her orders, the ones that Tokyo had given her. He on the other hand was just there to work, to help with the Syndrome. Yet she still hadn't been an easy person to work with recently. Not like the other nurse, Keiko Asano,she was a very bubbly person. Always cracking jokes and laughing and smiling. She was easy to talk to and was often seen at the main desk chatting to the various patients that visited the clinic. However, she had only recently got her degree in medical sciences and this was her first job. Tokyo hadn't enlisted her though. In fact it had been Irie himself who had given the girl a job. She reminded him of his self-back when he had first graduated from medical school.

He reached the door to his office, opening it and slipping inside. In the corner his computer stood in sleep mode, ready for use at any time. It was perched on his desk which was covered in papers, strewn across the desktop. He ignored all of these things and stumbled tiredly over to the bed which was usually used for patients. He lay onto it and moved himself into a comfortable position, asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow. He slipped into a dreamless sleep.

The shadows in Irie's room diminished as the sky turned rosy red in the morning sunlight. But all of this was ignored below the ground, since there were no windows for the light to enter through. Takano was still watching the monitors no sign of weariness showing. She was still deeply focused on the various monitors and cameras that adorned the desktop. She moved suddenly, seeming almost surprised. She reached for a keyboard that lay in front of her. Her perfectly manicured hands tapping away at it. She moved away from the desk her facial expression that of excitement. She ran to the door of Doctor Irie, opening the door and flying into the room at top speed. She shook Irie by the shoulder to wake him, she had news and it was big.

"Doctor Irie wake up," she shook his shoulder again. "Doctor Irie, it's about that boy. It seems that he's regaining consciousness." With that Irie, who had been trying to awaken, shot up now fully awake.

"Are you sure?" He asked his voice hopeful. He had been waiting to hear this so he could find out about the boy. Takano rolled her eyes and said.

"Yes I'm pretty sure that he's waking up. I'm not stupid, I can read this screen and I do know what I'm doing". She seemed angry at his question. But the doctor took no notice he was on his feet, ready to find out who this boy was and why he was here.

He was so tired, but yet he was awake. Or at least felt like he was awake. Looking around him he saw crystals of various shapes and sizes, many of them cracked. He looked closer, watching as murky shapes writhed across the surface of the crystals. He looked down, he too was floating, but for some reason this seemed not to faze him. The crystals that he floated amongst sat in complete darkness, the only light was emitted was that by the crystals themselves. He also noticed that some crystals glowed brighter and gave out more light than the others. These crystals also had the least cracks in them.

The whisper of cloth on skin startled him out of his thoughts. He looked towards the source of the noise, expecting some sort of monster to appear. But instead he turned to find a young girl with deep blue hair standing behind him. She wore a strange outfit, with many frills adorning the edge of her dress. She had a large purple bow tie hanging loosely around her slender neck. She was staring at him with eyes that held no emotion. So he stared back captivated by, from what he could gather, was the only other being in this world.

"Who are you?" He asked. The girl looked back at him, as if she were pondering his question. In the end she responded with.

"I go by different names, given to me by worthless beings. You need not know me, all you need to know is that life is sacred and you are my new surprise piece in order to gain a perfect world." He went to ask another question, but was cut short when the girl held out a slender hand and said. "No, you must go. My time here grows short and I must leave soon. So I shall send you on your way." She waved her hand, and the darkness swirled around him engulfing him. But before the darkness engulfed him entirely, the girl that he knew so little about vanished in a flash of blue.

Not so far away, another girl watched this short interaction with interest. She smiled. So that was her game, she thought. Well she would just have to surprise her in another way. She turned, her pink dress fluttering in the darkness, and walked away. Soon the crystals were the only things that could be seen.

Light filtered through sore eyes as the boy awoke. He tilted his head as he tried to take in his surroundings. The world was just a jumbled mess of colour's the first few times he blinked. But after a moment the world came into focus. A white sheet covered most of his body, and there was a machine next to him connected to his body by various wires and tubes. Sat on a chair next to the bed he lay upon, was a man. He wore a long white jacket, and carried a stethoscope around his neck. Now that he was fully awake and alert, he was not surprised that this man opened his mouth and asked him.

"Who are you?" It was a direct question, one that should've been easy. Easy if you could remember your name, or anything. So instead the boy answered. "I don't know… I can't remember. Excuse me but are you a doctor? And if you are could you answer why am I here? The man looked downcast, but answered his question anyway. "I am a doctor, yes. My name is Doctor Kyōsuke Irie and you are here in my clinic because you were found almost dead on the bank of a river." Irie paused for a moment. "I don't suppose you remember how you managed to get there, do you?" The boy shook his head. "Ah well. It was worth a try."

A small piece of paper was attached to a clipboard that Irie carried. Upon it he wrote. _Possibility of Amnesia._ He returned his gaze to the boy. "Do you even know your name?" The boy once again shook his head, and then paused. "Well I'm not sure it's my name but, Keibaku Anime keeps ringing inside my head." Irie smiled. Well at least he had a name now.

"Well Keibaku, were going to keep you in for a few more days just to keep an eye on you, but you seem to be in perfect health now." Irie smiled at Keibaku. Keibaku smiled back happy to have a name.

Meanwhile above the room, in the reception. Miyo Takano was trying to persuade a rather hyped up Akane Sonozaki to calm down. "So you're telling me the boy is finally awake." Takano just rolled her eyes at the woman and said in a voice a sweet as treacle. "Yes, the boy is awake, but is currently being treated by Doctor Irie. You cannot just barge right in there."

Akane shook her head, "I wasn't going to, I just wanted to see how he was doing. After all who knows what that poor boys been through." She paced across the reception a few more times, then glanced back over at Takano. She frowned, it seemed not that long ago Takano had been all smiles and laughter. But increasingly so recently she had fell into a dark mood, often depressed, angry and forlorn.

At that moment Doctor Irie marched out of a doorway on Akane's left, looking exhausted. He looked at Takano and said, "He seems to have amnesia so at the moment nothing is known about him. He says the name Keibaku Anime sounds familiar but that's it." He averted his gaze to Akane, "I suppose you're here about the boy as well." Akane nodded, her expression yearning for answers. "Well…" Doctor Irie began his eyes scanning the notes he had made during his short talk with the boy, Keibaku he reminded himself. "The boy seems to be suffering from severe amnesia, the only thing he seems able to remember is his name, and that is sketchy to say the least. I would say he's around 15 years old, nearly 16 maybe." Akane cut in, "So he's of similar age to Mion and Shion." Irie nodded, "Yes, wait. Why would that be a problem to you?" Akane twisted her fingers together. "Well I was going to offer him…."

Keibaku was sat up in his bed when Irie returned to his room. He was looking around his room with interest, and seemed startled when Irie walked in. "Oh hey Doctor Irie, I was just wondering how long I was going to have to stay here, now that I've woken up.

It was then that he realised that Doctor Irie was not alone. A woman walked in behind him. She had close cropped green hair and wore a dark kimono. She had a small smile playing on her lips, as if she was on the verge of telling a joke. Keibaku looked from Irie to the stranger before going. "Um, I hope I don't sound rude when I ask, but who are you?"

The woman just continued smiling and said, "Of course not, I am Akane Sonozaki and it was upon the banks of the river outside my home that you were found upon. You see I was walking through my garden along the river bank when I saw you. You didn't seem to be in a good way so I sent for Doctor Irie immediately. Then you were brought here and treated by the Doctor and nurses that work here." Keibaku nodded, it made sense and it was finally filling some of the gaps in his memory. It was a small titbit but it was better than nothing. Akane cleared her throat. "There was another thing I wanted to say, I have two daughters of your age, and you don't have anywhere else to go. So I was wondering whether you would like to become a Sonozaki. I'm willing to adopt you and take you under my wing whilst you heal. My daughters will teach you the ways of this small village we live in and a few other formalities that you'll need to know.

Keibaku sat back speechless, then his face cracked into a grin. "I would love to become a Sonozaki, thank you. This means a lot to me." Akane replied, "Hey it's no problem, I know how to look after kids, so you'll be fine." She stopped, "Just watch out for Oryo, she's not the nicest to outsiders.

**I hope this makes sense to anybody who reads this. If not let me know and I'll try to fix it. Anyway this was just a little introduction of Keibaku into the village by Irie and Akane. In the next chapter a couple of weeks would have passed, and Keibaku will be fit and off to school for the first time in Hinamizawa. I hope this is good enough. **

**AnimePalmer**


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